Longtime schools spokeswoman plans to retire

Jane Beckett-Donohue, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County public schools for two decades, said last week she plans to retire in February.

Beckett-Donohue, who began a career in the school system in 1979 as a secretary at Crofton Elementary School, went on to serve as the system's public information officer under six superintendents.

Beckett-Donohue, 57, said she has been mulling over leaving the job since the summer. She decided to retire after the recent birth of her first grandchild, with whom she wants to spend more time. "It is pretty bittersweet," she said. "I love what I've been doing there."